


Iridescent

by ExtraSteps



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: First Kiss, M/M, OTLSpooktober2020, drinking a potion, oblivious boys, some light angst caused by general idiocy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:03:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27302377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ExtraSteps/pseuds/ExtraSteps
Summary: It seems pretty obvious to Theo: Don’t drink the mystery potion given to you by a complete stranger. No matter how ‘trustworthy’ or ‘kind’ they appear to be. It’s sheer stupidity, the sort that he thought didn’t need to be explicitly stated to Liam or the rest of his merry band of idiots.
Relationships: Liam Dunbar/Theo Raeken
Comments: 10
Kudos: 111





	Iridescent

It seems pretty obvious to Theo: Don’t drink the mystery potion given to you by a complete stranger. No matter how ‘trustworthy’ or ‘kind’ they appear to be. It’s sheer stupidity, the sort that he thought didn’t need to be explicitly stated to Liam or the rest of his merry band of idiots.

How wrong he was.

He looks at the now mostly empty bottle, the last dregs of liquid shining an iridescent white, and sighs deeply.

"Do you at least know what it does?" he asks, quirking a judgemental eyebrow at Liam, who has the grace to at least look mildly sheepish.

"Not exactly," he hedges.

"She said it would give us all something we want or need tonight," Mason adds helpfully. He shrinks back at the glare Theo shoots him, Corey curling slightly around him and frowning at the other chimera.

"And you all drank this?" he checks, glancing at the misfit group of morons. Liam nods, as do Mason and Corey. Nolan squirms and then eventually nods. Alec just shrugs.

"There was enough for a sip each," Liam says. "She swore it would do no harm, so we thought hey, why not?"

Theo has to actually close his eyes and count to ten at that, the flare of his temper burning bright and hot. He can give him a hundred reasons why not. For starters, 'did you at all consider that she could have been  _ lying? _ "

"We can tell when people are lying, remember?" Liam points out stubbornly. He folds his arms, his jaw going tight, red circles appearing on both of his cheeks. He's getting angry, but it's nowhere near eclipsing his own ire.

" _ I _ can tell when people are lying," Theo grits out through his teeth, " _ you're _ shit at it."

"I am not," Liam immediately insists. Theo growls, actually honest-to-God growls at him, and it startles Liam's indignant expression away, his eyes going wide as he leans back, looking offended. "Did you seriously just growl at me?"

"Did you seriously just drink potential poison from a random witch?" Theo snaps back, just so done with the whole situation. If only he could just leave these idiots and let them figure it out for themselves.

He can't do that though. If Scott didn't kill him then Stiles definitely would. And to be honest, the thought of letting Liam wander off and die from his own stupidity, tempting as it may seem, is counter-productive to his self-appointed role of being Liam's Keeper.

So he looks down and grabs the discarded stopper, placing the potion vial in the pocket of his jacket. If they all start frothing at the mouth or something, hopefully, there's enough liquid left to create an antidote.

"Can we go into the party now dad?" Alec asks him, his voice heavy with sarcasm. Theo shoots him a dirty look, and Alec just smirks, holding up his hands in a peace gesture. He's mostly joking, but Theo still wants to strangle him. They're all just so careless, not realising how easy it would be for a hunter to come in and take them all out.

"Buddy system," he tells them, giving each of them, in turn, a stern look. "I mean it. You have no idea what this stuff is going to do to you. And if anything goes wrong, find me straight away."

"Yeah yeah," Alec says, snagging Nolan's sleeve and hauling him across the street to where a very loud party is clearly underway. Mason grimaces at Theo, looking nervous, and lets Corey guide him away as well, leaving Theo alone with Liam.

"This was stupid," Theo says quietly. "You know that, right?"

"It really didn't seem like a big deal," Liam says, a troubled expression furrowing his brow. "I don't know, she sounded so earnest, talking about how it would make this a night to remember."

"I hope that's all it is," Theo sighs. "I really, really do." And that it wasn't a night to remember for a horrible, gut-wrenching reason instead.

"Please don't be mad anymore," Liam says in a small voice.

And how can he tell Liam that he's not mad, he's fucking terrified, without making it clear why?

So he says nothing, just jerks his head towards the party and falls in next to Liam as he reluctantly crosses the street, his miserable scent curling in his nostrils and making his chest feel tight.

Liam makes his way to the kitchen to snag some drinks. Silently, Theo prays that whatever they've taken doesn't badly interact with alcohol. He hopes not. This random witch had been handing these potions to people standing outside a party, so hopefully, she had taken it into consideration. He still resolves to stick closely to Liam's side all night though.

After an hour of nothing bad happening, he relaxes slightly. Liam's having fun, playing beer pong with some of his lacrosse buddies while Theo leans against the far wall. Alec and Nolan are both outside smoking something he’d pretended not to notice (he's had quite enough of Alec sarcastically calling him dad) and Corey and Mason are jumping around on the makeshift dance floor.

Five minutes later, Nolan and Alec both stumble up to him, their grins dopey and wide. Nolan, he understands, but Alec? Weed shouldn't have that much of an effect on him.

"Dude!" Alec says. "Theo, bro. Oh my god, I don't know what was in that stuff, but it's fucking incredible. I can get high again!"

Theo stares at him like he's got a second head. "Your want or need was to get high?"

"Yep!" Alec said with a toothy grin. Next to him, Nolan giggles, burying his face in Alec's neck. Alec preens at the attention. Pretty sure Nolan's got what he wants or needs too if the way the two of them are clinging to each other now is any indication.

"You should drink the last bit," Nolan tells him with a wink, dragging Alec away again.

He tries not to watch from the corner of his eye as the two of them find a shadowy nook and start enthusiastically making out.

Instead, he makes his way back over to Liam's side, who has finally lost the game. He and his partner (a tall attractive guy named Brett that Theo had hated on sight) are replaced by another two people, and Liam turns to him with a big smile. "Having fun yet?" he asks.

"Sure," he agrees sceptically. "Drunk teenagers everywhere. What a riot."

Liam rolls his eyes. "Oh come on, Theo. Stop being a party pooper for once. Have some fun." He wraps an arm around his shoulder, and Theo goes still. He has to immediately stamp down on his emotions, squashing the pleased feeling he gets from Liam touching him very far down.

"Drinking lukewarm beer is not fun," he says, pointedly looking at the table behind them, where the next game is already leading to a lot of jeers and laughing.

"So what is fun, then?" Liam asks him, clearly curious, even as a smirk tugs at one corner of his lips. "Standing against a wall glowering at people?"

"Not my idea of a good time, no," he concedes. "Someone has to make sure you don't die from poison though, don't they?"

Liam gives him a funny look. "Is that why you hang around all the time?" he asks suspiciously. "To stop me from dying?"

He shrugs. It's not  _ technically _ wrong.

"And here I was hoping you liked me," Liam mutters, shoving away from him and stalking off.

He should follow, he should. But his feet are stuck to the floor as surely as if he'd been struck by a spell, Liam's sour scent of disappointment lingering in the air around him.

He just can't do anything right tonight.

Mason and Corey sidle up next to him. "Um, are you okay?" Mason asks him, actually looking concerned.

"Yeah," he shrugs, shoving his hands into his pockets and trying to wipe his expression blank. "Having fun?"

"Sure," Mason agrees, unknowingly echoing Theo's earlier response to Liam. Unlike Theo, he means it. "Until a moment ago anyway, when two of my friends both started looking really upset. What happened?"

He dismisses the question with a wave of his hand. "Did the potion work for you guys too?" he asks instead.

It's Corey who speaks up this time. "Too?"

He jerks his head over to where Nolan and Alec are still making out like, well, teenagers, Alec crowding Nolan against the wall and sucking hickies into his fairer skin while Nolan sighs his approval.

Corey smirks. Mason just gives Theo an unimpressed look. He's clearly not going to be deterred from his question.

"What I  _ want and need _ right now," he says, stressing the words, "is for my friend Theo to tell me why he looks like he kicked a puppy."

"Liam asked me if the only reason I hang around him is to stop him from dying," he admits, shoulders hunching in.

"And you didn't immediately deny it," Mason finishes with a deep and aggravated sigh. "You're both fucking idiots."

Corey places a placating hand on Mason's shoulder, ducking down to kiss his cheek. "You go get a drink babe. I've got this."

Mason nods and drifts away, leaving the two of them alone. Corey grabs his arm and steers him to the fringes of the party where it's a bit quieter. "Theo," he says gently. "You know Liam has a crush on you, right?"

"He does not," he immediately denies. He would have noticed. Liam is rubbish at hiding his emotions.

Corey looks bemused. "You're literally all he talks about. Theo said this. Yesterday Theo and I did that. That's not what Theo thinks. He never shuts up about you."

He shifts on his feet, feeling uncomfortably hot all of a sudden. "So? That doesn't mean anything. We spend a lot of time together."

Corey just looks at him again, eyebrows rising. "You're the only one who can calm him down, Theo," he points out.

"I'm his anchor," he shrugs. "It's nothing."

"That's not all it is, and you know it," Corey says, voice firm. "You anchor him, sure, but he also likes spending all that time with you. No matter how much of a grumpy asshole you are."

"He doesn't like me," he insists weakly. "He doesn't. He hates me most of the time."

"I didn't say he wasn't dumb about it," Corey sighs. "He doesn't hate you, he just doesn't know how to express his emotions."

Theo stares at him with a stony expression on his face. He's not wrong about this. He _ isn't.  _ He  _ can't  _ be. because if he is-

Then well, he's been as big of an idiot as Mason and Corey claim.

Corey places a hand on each of his shoulders. "Mason and I, we're really happy together. We don't have anything we  _ want or need _ apart from the two of you pulling your heads out of your asses and admitting you like each other. We want you to be happy, both of you."

Theo sighs.

"Go and find him," Corey says gently. "Talk to him." He taps Theo's pocket, where the potion vial still rests with its final sip of the potion. "Don't you think it's about time you got your happy ending, Theo?"

And with that last shot, he leaves him, weaving through the crowd where mason is waiting for him. Theo, again, is stuck in place, his chest aching, agonising over what to do.

By all rights, he should leave. No one is dead or dying, and he can go back to his truck, have some peace and quiet away from the wild clash of loud music, hormonal teenagers and too much booze. But he'll be alone there, yet another night just staring out his window feeling sorry for himself. For once, it doesn't feel like the more attractive option.

Not when Liam is still there somewhere, sad and alone, all because of him.

What had Liam said? Hey, why not? He pulls out the vial, examining it. The liquid glitters as he looks at it, making something in his stomach flutter with nerves. He's never done anything as reckless as this. That's Liam's domain, not his.

But maybe he needs a bit of reckless tonight.

He tips it into his mouth, swallowing the bitter liquid with a grimace. It burns the whole way down, making his fingers tingle and his mouth go dry. But he doesn't panic. Instead, he's filled, suddenly, with a sense of purpose, and he sets down the now-empty vial on the nearest table, peeling through the partygoers as his eyes start scanning the crowd.

Upstairs only leads him to many awkward encounters with couples in various states of undress, but he keeps opening each door. Liam's scent is strongest up here, so he has to be here somewhere.

At the end of the hall, a door is ajar. He steps into it and closes it behind him, thumbing the lock absentmindedly. The curtains opposite the door rustle in the wind, and as he nudges them aside, he finds Liam facing away from him, elbows braced on the edge of the small balcony.

Theo pushes the sliding door open and steps through, closing it behind him. Liam doesn't turn around, though it's obvious he knows who's there.

"I'm sorry," Theo says quietly, moving to stand beside him, not yet able to look at his face. "It's not the only reason."

Liam glances at him then, his face shadowed. "Yeah?"

He nods, offering a small, pained smile. "Yeah," he whispers, turning so that he's facing him directly. Liam mirrors him. "I'm always trying to save you, but it's because I'm terrified of losing you."

He hears as Liam inhales sharply, his pulse sky-rocketing. His heart is racing just as fast. He can't remember ever being more nervous than this.

Liam says nothing, but his eyes are wide as they search his face. Theo swallows past the lump in his throat and forces himself to keep going.

"Because what you said is true. I do like you. I like you so much it scares me," he says, his gaze meeting Liam's.

There. He's said it. It's out there in the open. He likes Liam. And Liam knows now. It can't be taken back.

This will be where Liam scoffs and shoves him away. Where Corey is proven ultimately wrong. Where-

"You idiot," Liam says fondly, and he closes the distance between them, grabbing his face in his hands and pulling him into a kiss that is soft and searching and sweet. Theo trembles as he returns it, wrapping both arms around Liam and crushing him to his chest, the rightness of Liam in his arms making his blood sing in his veins.

Liam pulls away, but only so he can bury his face in Theo's neck, wrapping his arms around his shoulders and keeping him there. "It scares me too," he whispers into Theo's skin. "But not as much as not having  _ this _ ."

Theo closes his eyes, shuddering as he lets the last of the tension go, melting into the hug. It's perfect. Corey was right. What he wanted and needed? It was right in front of him and had been all along.

"Sorry for being oblivious," he says into Liam's hair.

"Me too," Liam says, pulling away and smiling at him. They smile at each other for a bit, and Theo feels his heart pitter patter in his chest. He's so pretty, and it feels strange to be allowed to just drink him in instead of avoiding his gaze like he normally does, looking away every time Liam almost catches him. Liam watches him in turn, his lips curled up in a pleased, bashful smile.

And he knows that Liam will still scare him sometimes with his reckless behaviour, and that he'll be chasing after him for pretty much the rest of his life, but he's right. It's so worth it.

He can't help but duck in to kiss him again, tasting his smile against his lips, his whole body pressed to Liam's.

Later, they rejoin the party, spending the rest of the night at each other's sides, joining in on the fun of dancing and drinking and just hanging out with their friends. And the whole time, their fingers are interlocked, the two of them exchanging shy, happy grins.

It's a night that Theo will never forget.


End file.
